The first batch of North Korean officials and athletes taking part in the upcoming Asian Games touched down at Incheon airport on Thursday to be welcomed by a small group of unification activists amid a heavy security presence.
The reclusive North is sending 150 athletes to compete at the multi-sports event in Incheon, west of Seoul, and Thursday's Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang carried soccer players and rowers as well as referees, medical staff and members of North Korean media. The remainder of the North's delegation to the Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 Games will arrive on five flights over the next couple of weeks.
Tensions between North and South Korea are high and the two states are technically still at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
While Asian Games organisers have had to take down some flags of countries competing in Incheon due to complaints from conservative groups and concerns that North Korean flags might be damaged, there was no sign of protests at the airport.
A group of 20 to 25 activists sang pro-unification songs and chanted: "We are one!" in Korean, waving small united Korea flags in front of a 'welcome' banner. The group cheered when they saw the athletes, who emerged wearing white blazers that sported the North Korean flag and loyalty badges with the faces of the country's former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The athletes looked calm and composed, despite the massive media scrum and barrage of camera flashes, offering the odd wave and smile back to the crowd, though there was very little interaction.
A huge security presence lined the route between the gate and the road outside where buses waited to take the delegation to the athletes village. Undercover security personnel with earpieces were also seen mingling in the crowd.
The timing of the North Korean delegation's arrival almost coincided with that of a group of U.S. military personnel on a flight from Detroit with their kitbags and families in tow. The groups missed each other by minutes.
TRICKY TALKS
North Korea won six gold medals at the 2010 Guangzhou Games in China and will be targeting a top 10 finish in the medal table in Incheon. They have high hopes of gold medals in weightlifting, wrestling, table tennis and judo. Their women's football team are also favourites to win the Asian Games title and kick off their campaign against Vietnam on Tuesday. The men's team play China on Monday.
Sport has been given greater importance in the North since Kim Jong Un officially took over as leader in 2012 following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, a year earlier.
Kim has been at the centre of a state propaganda drive to turn the isolated country into a "sports superpower" and has rewarded medal-winning athletes with luxury apartments, entertained flamboyant NBA hall of famer Dennis Rodman, and even tried his hand at coaching.
However, the North's participation in Incheon was in doubt only a few months ago after discussions with the South about the details of its delegation broke down. Late last month it announced it had decided not to send a squad of 350 cheerleaders to Incheon and accused Seoul of "abusing sacred sports and cultural exchange" for a "sinister political purpose".
In 2005, Pyongyang sent 101 cheerleaders, including Ri Sol Ju, who has since married North Korean leader Kim, to the Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon.
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